


just a boy

by phaeleh (orphan_account)



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: M/M, adding into the tags as story is developed, stripper!niall
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-11-08
Updated: 2013-11-25
Packaged: 2017-12-31 20:22:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 20
Words: 18,303
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1035990
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/phaeleh
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>he was intent on proving how much he meant to him</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. how's that for a night out

 

The lot walked down the dark street in a mangled group, able to make quite a mess of themselves though there were only seven of them out tonight. Harry had the bright idea of just walking the streets until they found something they liked, but it wasn't working out how he'd expected... everyone was tired and anticipating a buzz that was initially meant to happen hours ago.

Once they had stumbled upon a brightly lit club they exchanged looks. Louis squinted up at the neon red sign that read  _Onyx_ and the date of founding underneath in smaller font. He walked in without consulting the rest of the group, but they followed relentlessly.

It was a Burlesque themed establishment, decorated thoroughly but not unconvincingly, having that 1940's (or something) vibe. A young blonde waitress stopped them at the door and smiled cheekily, balancing a tray of alcohol on one hand. "How may I help you, fellas?"

"Was in the... neighborhood. Saw the sign and yep." Louis replied, running his fingers through his hair, ignoring the fact he'd mussed up his previously perfectly styled quiff. The waitress continued smiling, nodding once. "Really draws them in. Well, find yourselves some seats, can't have you just standing around when the show's about to start." 

The boys didn't argue, leading themselves over to a booth off to the side but still close enough to the stage.

Music immediately started to play, though flowing softly through the speakers so it wasn't too obnoxious. The stage lights flashed and seven, more or less, women appeared on the stage. Harry turned to the group and cleared his throat, smiling lightly. "I'll be right back," Zayn nodded and slid out of the booth, allowing Harry to get out. 

"If you're going to the bar can you bring me a cosmo?" Harry just nodded and accepted the bill from Nick's waiting hand, turning back and weaving through the tables and the bustling people, hopping up on one of the barstools. 

_He had it coming, he had it coming.. he only had himself to blame. If you'da been there, if you'da seen it... I betcha you would've done the same._

_  
_"What can I get for 'ya." The bartender asked, quirking an eyebrow - he had the generic bartender image. Sleeves rolled up to his elbows, a dishcloth draped over his shoulder and the kind of personality that right away tells you if you don't order fast you won't be ordering at all.

Harry answered almost instantaneously. "Two cosmos on the rocks, yeah."

The barman, Sam, nodded once and began putting the drinks together. "You new?" A lump formed in Harry's throat, but he nodded in reply. "You'll be a regular in no time, no worries. Happens to everyone." The drinks were placed on the counter, and were pushed towards Harry.

"Thanks." Harry slid the cash across the counter and took the drinks in both of his hands, stopping in his tracks once he heard a voice yell over the loud music. "Sam!"

His eyebrows raised and both him and Sam turned the other way, now staring at a fairly young looking lad wearing a stop-and-stare kind of outfit. "What's it now, Niall." Sam replied boredly, his attention solely on wiping down the counter. Harry was staring in awe, his jaw slack, his grip very slowly slipping from the two glasses he was holding.

The blonde boy sat down a stool away from Harry, leaning forward on the bar. "I'm gonna need the most alcoholic thing you know how to make."

"One grasshopper coming right up." Sam then turned his back to the two, making the drink. Niall sighed contently and closed his eyes for a few moments before noticing someone staring at him. His head turned slowly and he smiled awkwardly at Harry's confused expression. "Hello."

Sam placed the bright green drink infront of Niall and the blonde squealed and downed half of the glass before it'd been in his hand for more than ten seconds. "Cheers." With that, he stood up again and quickly scurried backstage.

It was in that exact moment Harry remembered the drinks, snapping out of which ever phase he was in and carrying them back to the table, handing one of them to Nick who smiled appreciatively. "Thanks, mate. You were over there for a while, anything interesting happen?" Harry shook his head and sat down between Zayn and Liam, taking a sip of his beverage. "Long line."

This went on for a while, the group ordered drinks which were brought to them by a different person every time, all smiling happily and asking if they wanted anything to eat aswell. Halfway through the night Harry excused himself again, this time avoiding the bar and resorting to just wandering around, somehow finding himself following a group of guys backstage. There was a girls dressing room and a guys, and Harry knew better than to cross any boundries so he sauntered cautiously into the guy's room. 

The first thing that came to mind was  _holy shit_ and not because of the immense amount of gold glitter and such, but because of how neat the room was. He'd lived with a bunch of guys before, well.. he still did, and he'd never seen a room this clean. Ever. 

A familiar blonde head wriggled around Harry's body which was apparently blocking the door, and as soon as they took the time to look up, they grinned. Seemingly pleased by his prescence. "Well hello. I remember you. From the bar, yes?"

Harry nodded and smiled, blinking a few times fast. "Harry."

"Niall." The blonde replied almost cautiously, holding his arms behind his back. " _Niall_." Another blonde stepped up beside him, wrapping his hand around Niall's wrist. "You have to go, your Thursday regulars just got here." The male trailed off and turned towards Harry, giving him a quick once over. "And  _you_ are not supposed to be back here, huh." He raised an eyebrow, a small smile on his lips.

"I was just leaving, sorry." Harry held his hands up on either side of his shoulders, grinning at Niall's amused face before turning and walking back out, dodging a few people who were basically sprinting into the dressing rooms. 

For most of the night he chatted with his mates, sharing a laugh and more than a couple drinks - encouraged by quite a few servers that considering the state they were in, it'd be the best bet for them to either order some food or coffee, or call a cab and head home. They chose the food and coffee option, or atleast Harry did. No one complained, though.

 

"You again?" Niall teased, joining Harry at the bar for the second time. Harry's hands were cupping a mug full of coffee and he was basically sober by now, though his buddies weren't so much. "Me again."

Niall sighed and rested his head on the countertop, obviously tired - closing his light blue eyes though his lips still had that smug smirk etched on them. "I'd give you a lapdance, but I feel like shit, so.."

"No, 'course not, don't worry about it." Harry said hurriedly, hoping he wasn't making the impression that that was all he was looking for. "Do you ever like.. sleep?"

"Oh yeah." His voice was tired and so were his eyes. They stared blankly at the lit up menu that was mounted on the inner column of the circle bar. "In fact, I should be heading off right about... now." He said, watching the clock on the wall - turning to Harry again with a small smile. "Goodnight,  _Harry._ " _  
_

There were some things about ' _Onyx_ ' that Harry didn't understand, but he did understand a few things.

Niall was there every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. So naturally, those were the days Harry either brought a few friends out or went by himself. Ordered a few drinks, made nice with Sam and best of all.. talked to Niall. 

"Hey, stranger." Niall giggled as he walked behind the counter, snatching a flask from the refridgerator and taking a few swigs before offering it to Harry who graciously declined. "Seem quite popular around here."

"Ah yeah." He shook out his styled blonde hair, messing it up a tad more than it already was. "Ladies and desperate enough lads love a good lapdance." He brought the flask back up to his lips before pausing, smirking. it didn't take Harry long to realize what he was hinting, but he shook his head. 

Niall raised an eyebrow at his decline, finally taking that drink. "Suit yourself." He twisted the cap back onto the container and made a small surprised sound when he saw Sam making his way back over to the bar, placing the container back in the fridge and closing the door. "Why do you come here, anyways? No lapdances, no private showings, and from what I've seen.. you don't even really pay attention during the nighttime burlesque thing."

"Wouldn't know how to ask for one even if I wanted one." 

"Do you want one..?"

Harry cleared his throat inaudibly and chuckled, turning his stool back and forth a few times. "Are you offering?"

Niall scoffed, which surprised Harry to say the least. "No." He looked oddly smug. "You're cute, but.. no."

"Thought that was your job?" Harry tilted his head, tracing the rim of the glass with his index fingertip. "It is. At  _night_."  Niall bit at his lower lip, trying to hide his rapidly growing grin. "Maybe you'll just have to come back at night."

"Maybe I will."

 

He didn't go back for two weeks, but when he did it was on a Tuesday night and he brought along a few of his friends again. Whilst they were off mingling and drinking and watching the dancing, Harry was off in search of Niall.

The blonde was leaning over a middle aged man who had his hands on Niall's hips, fingers tauting the bone. Niall was swaying back and forth all seductive like, and Harry was occasionally glancing over, trying not to look like he was just blatantly watching everything he did.

Once the dance was over, Niall collected the bills from the man and wandered around, in no hurry to get anywhere or having anywhere in specific to go anyways. Harry found him nonetheless, and Niall just nudged him. "Hey. How about that lapdance?"

"How about a date?"

Niall burst out in a small fit of laughter, throwing his head back. "How about no." He caught onto Harry's troubled expression and sighed, smile fading. "Babe, you can't date me."

Harry leaned against the table nearest to them, tilting his head and grinning wryly. "Scared of committment?"

"What committment comes with a date exactly? And no, you just can't." Niall raised his eyebrows at a woman who was holding up a twenty dollar bill and he held up his index finger to indicate he was on his way over. Before he left he turned back to Harry. "I want to, but I can't. I don't date customers."

"I'm not a customer. Not your's anyways."

Niall sighed and looked over at the lady again anxiously, then back to Harry. "One date, fine. Friday.. pick me up outside here at eight  _on foot_ and make sure to really prove you're not a creeper. Right?"

Harry grinned brightly, nodding and playfully shoving Niall towards the ladies. "Friday at eight, alright. I wouldn't be worried about that. I don't even have a car so.. go strip for some cougars." 

 


	2. how about that date

 

"Let's have at it, then." A voice said, slowly getting closer to where Harry was standing at the entrance of the Onyx. He turned to face a bundled up Niall, hands in his pockets. He hated to admit it, but he hardly recognized him without the glitter and... so much clothing.

Niall just beamed and started walking past Harry, though taking small steps so he could catch up. "What did you have in mind?"

"I..-." Harry's eyes suddenly grew wide, and he sped up his walking so he could be beside the blonde. "Oh god, please don't tell me this is just going to be one of those tacky dates only to end up with you trying to get into my pants." Harry was quick to shake his head, stuffing his hands into his pockets so he wouldn't fidget. 

They walked for a little and it only occured to Niall when they walked into the butterfly gardens that Harry really wasn't planning anything. "Aw I love butterflies." He cooed lightly, observing the many colourful insects that were fluttering about. "They're so friendly, too."

"Well, I've never heard of any butterfly attacks so I guess you're right." That earned a chuckle from Niall, and he turned so they were facing eachother. "Why do you keep coming by? I've probably asked before, but really.. you don't seem like the burlesque type."

Harry shrugged his shoulders and took his hands out of his pockets, pulling his sleeves over them instead. "A friend thought the place looked interesting. I don't normally... it's kind of like a last resort thing for me." Niall stared at him, his confusion blatant. "I mean the clubbing thing, if I'm bored and my friends are going out I'll go with them but we always used to just go to pubs and things."

"Pubs and things." 

Niall trailed his fingertips over a daisy and nodded along to what he was hearing, even though he was only partially listening. "How old are you?"

It was starting to get dark out, the moon was no longer just a faded shape in the sky, and the lights in the sanctuary flickered on. "Twenty. You?"  _What._ Harry couldn't process what he was hearing. Twenty? That means he's a year younger than Niall.. Niall is _older_ than him.

"Nineteen."

Niall laughed softly, shaking his hair out a bit before brushing past Harry and walking towards the door, holding it open for both of them. "The tables have certainly turned, huh. Maybe if we get home before nine your mom and dad will up my pay." He winked and Harry glared playfully, stepping outside again. "Where now?"

"Food."

"I like the sound of that."

 

-

 

"So your mom's a what?" Niall asked, his hands wrapped around a paper cup of coffee. "A nurse." Harry replied to finish the sentence, the corners of his lips tugged up into a small smile. "For kids, it's kind of depressing at her work but y'know... she likes it so.."

Niall smiled and took a few steps ahead, avoiding the cracks in the sidewalk. "That sounds nice. I was in med school but I have a really weak stomach so I don't think I would've made the best nurse or doctor."

The two stopped at a few places after the butterfly sanctuary, the coffee being their final destination on the date. Now they were walking leisurely down the street lamp lit sidewalk, on their way back to the club. "I don't know how she does it. I'd think it was stressful enough taking care of me and my sister when we were sick, but now she does it as a career. Maybe there's some hidden amusement in it or something." He laughed lightly, taking sudden notice that Niall was tauting his fingers against the cup he was holding onto. 

"Hey," Niall turned. They hadn't even reached the Onyx yet. "Let's do this again sometime, yeah?"

Harry paused and blinked a few times, his lips forming an 'o' like shape. "Y-yeah, for sure." Then like that, Niall took off across the road and down an alleyway

 

-

 

"So..." Louis said as soon as Harry walked through the door, closing it behind him and locking all the locks that were attached. "How was the date? With Jessa, right?"

Harry ignored him and smiled - his smug attitude reflecting on it greatly. He was followed through many rooms before he finally decided to be nice and give an answer. "It was good." The guilt from lying to his friends and saying he was going out with a girl he met shot through him as if it hadn't bothered him before, so naturally it bothered him even more now. "She's really cool. Asked for a second date."

Louis cheered, patting Harry's back a few times. "That's my boy."

"Be careful with those, Harold. She could be a he and you wouldn't even know it." Zayn called from the other room, his voice quickly followed by a slap which Harry assumed was Perrie slapping his arm or leg or something. 

"She's a she," He exchanged looks with Louis who was looking fully engaged all of a sudden. "Not that it matters." Harry muttered, and Louis quirked an eyebrow.

Later on when the house was quieter than a church during communion, Harry climbed out of bed, still dressed in his day clothes. He sat at the end of his bed and scribbled notes down in a notebook - since when did he keep notebooks around? - having mini arugments with himself to better develop scenarios that would probably never happen. It's not like anyone would mind if Jessa turned out to be fake, or.. real, but a guy.. named Niall. Would they?

In the other's minds, Jessa was a twenty-two year old waitress at the Tilted Kilt. Not too creative, but it was the only thing that came to mind. Harry feared the day the boys asked to meet her ; seeing as one, she was fake - and two, she was  _fake_. That's it.

Niall showed up on their front doorstep a week later, asking for Harry. Liam smiled kindly and got Harry, leaving them at the door. Harry rushed to get his wallet and his shoes on so they could leave, but of course it never works out that easily. Louis stopped them.

"Harry? What're you doing, mate? I thought you had a date with Jessa tonight.."

Niall furrowed his brow and looked up at Harry though there wasn't much of a height difference. " _Jessa_? Who's that?"

Louis interrupted again. "His girlfriend..." Harry could've sworn he could pinpoint the precise moment when his blood started to boil. "Girlfriend?" The blonde said darkly, his jaw clenched. He didn't even let Harry try to explain, he smiled painfully and looked between him and Louis. "Wouldn't want to keep you from your date." Then he ambled down the steps and down the street.

"Who was that?" The question lingered in the air for a while, unanswered and clearly flatout ignored - Harry was more focused on watching Niall walk away than anything. Dammit Louis. 


	3. bitter

 

Niall rushed into the club, tearing his coat off along the way, groaning as a certain waitress trailed after him. "You're late." She said matter of factly. Niall nodded and snuck past his manager and into the dressing rooms. On Wednesdays he worked during the day only, so he was expected to arrive at eleven in the morning despite the weather condition. Today was his lucky day, a brutual snowstorm was over the city and would be for the next two days or so.

"Maybe you should have left earlier?" 

Niall rolled his eyes and began stripping off his clothing, replacing them with the clothes he brought in. Just as he was pulling his vest over his head, a head poked into the room. "Horan, you're working the tables and bar today."

"But I.."

His manager furrowed his brow at the questioning. "You heard me. Oh, and never show up late again. You missed rehearsals." The blonde whimpered and started to strip again, rummaging around for a waitor uniform in his size. The girl was still with him, but had ducked behind a rack of clothes when Mr. Anders popped in. "He's gone, Leigh-Anne." 

She sighed and stepped out, gripping a tray to her side. "It's snowing pretty bad out there, huh?" Her only answer was a simple nod. "I'll go clock you in." 

"Thanks."

Niall wasn't initially planning on coming into work today, seeing as he was at Harry's earlier, but the rude awakening that forced him to realize what an idiot he was for trusting him knocked some common sense back into him.. so here he was. Late, but still at work.

Customers were slowly starting to pile in, all shaking snow off themselves and hanging their coats up at the front. Niall circulated the main floor and tried to get around to everyone to see if they wanted anything to eat or drink. The music was a lot softer than it was at night, but was still playing in every corner of the room. R U Mine by the Arctic Monkeys, a.k.a one of Niall's favourite songs. Why was it being played at a burlesque club? We'll never know. But really, during the day it was a regular club.

When he got back to the bar he stepped behind the counter and looked around, sighing in relief when he didn't see anyone he recognized.  _Okay, alcohol_. 

It was still snowing badly outside by the time Niall was ready to head home, and people were piling in again to see the evening shows. "Hold it, sailor." Leigh-Anne cleared her throat, closing the previously open bar half-door. "Boss said you owe him an hour tonight. You gotta stay in." She smiled apologetically and handed over her order booklet. "Table seven."

Niall pouted and watched her leave then went back to work, calling another waitress over to collect the tray of drinks. That, was when he saw it. The familiar feathery hair and the others who followed behind.  _Harry._ He found himself sighing a lot more than he ever had in one night.

The curly hair he used to adore and now dreaded appeared at the end of the line of six or more guys, looking slightly somber even as he sat down in their regular booth. Niall watched as he tried to do his job and not look creepy, was difficult though. Even more so when Harry wandered over and sat at the bar. "Niall."

Niall raised an eyebrow and turned his back to him, using a dishcloth to dry off a recently washed glass. "Hm."

"I'm sorry."

"Sorry for what? Sorry for tricking me or sorry for being an asshat?" Niall retorted, glancing over his shoulder.

Harry sunk lower into his seat and began folding in the corners of a napkin. "Sorry for all of it." Niall scoffed. "Yeah well, you should be. I should've expected this from you," His voice was almost a mutter now, not wanting to alarm any of the customers. "Thought you were different, but you're just like every other douchey guy that walks in here."

The song ended and the stage lights dimmed, and Niall turned his attention to the front, waving over a male who'd walked in a few minutes prior. "Stefan!" Harry's eyebrows raised curiously. "I'm..."

"My shifts over, curly. I'm sure Stefan'd love to hear it, though." 

"What would I love to hear?" A guy, presumably in his mid-twenties, stepped into the bar and grinned, shoving Niall out. Harry's head and eyes followed him as he carelessly collected his things and headed out. "Oh, nothing."

Stefan picked up a pint glass and wiped it off a bit more, raising his eyebrows. "Anything to drink?"

"Do you have.. Niall's cell number?"

The man's eyebrows raised a bit more, if that's possible, and he chuckled shallowly. "I don't know if that's permitted, mate."

Harry's pleading look must've done something, because in ten seconds flat a heavily sighing Stefan handed him a scribbled on piece of paper with a string of digits printed on it. "Don't tell anyone I gave it to you, okay? Don't even tell Niall."

-

 

 **Harry:**   _niall ?_

10:43 PM

**Niall:** _how the fuck did you get my number_

10:58 PM

 **Harry:**   _nevermind, ok. i'm really sorry._

11:02 PM

**Niall:** _i know. you told me three times at the bar._

11:05 PM

**Harry:** _the girlfriend thing wasn't even true, niall._

11:07 PM

**Niall:** _what ?_

11:15 PM

**Harry:** _i dont even like girls, how could i have a girlfriend. why would i have asked you out if i had a girlfriend_

11:20 PM

**Niall:** _what was your friend talking about then ?_

11:23 PM

**Harry:** _they dont know yet, so i used a fake person to cover up for you_

11:25 PM

**Niall:** _so you're ashamed of me ?_

11:30 PM

**Harry:** _no, of course not_

11:31 PM

**Niall:** _tell them, then._

11:32 PM

 **Harry:**   _are you still mad ?_

11:36 PM

 _seen at_ : 11:38 PM

But he got no reply.


	4. tattered

A cold gust of wind woke Harry up, seconds to midnight. The window was wide open and it took a lot of self-talk to get himself up to close it, and once he was up he stood there. His phone flashed a few times and he didn't even have to guess who the person sending him a text might be.

**Niall:** _meet me outside_

12:02 AM

Harry groaned and threw his phone across the room, cautious enough so it didn't hit anything and break, just enough that it would land on his bed. The same windy air pelted him as he stepped out, hunching his shoulders and blowing out a cold puff of air. It was still snowing quite a bit, but he forgot as soon as he saw Niall.

The blonde was standing at the end of the short pathway leading up to the front door, holding his phone in one hand, the other stuffed in a pocket. "Told them?"

Harry's reply was merely a stutter of a non-existent word, looking a little confused as he looked around. "It's so late, Niall."

"I just got off work. It was either this or I came by when all your friends were awake." Niall replied and Harry sighed, shaking his head in disbelief. "Yeah, I told them. Zayn seemed the most amused by it, actually."

Niall raised his eyebrows, thinking the exact opposite. "So now they know?"

_"I knew it!" Zayn exclaimed, laughing and holding his hands up behind his head, thinking highly of himself. Perrie furrowed her brow angrily and smacked his thigh, he shot a hurt look at her. "Sorry,"_

_"It's not funny, Zayn." This was Liam, he looked upset. Harry never took his eyes off of Louis, who was pacing back and forth. He hadn't said a word this entire time._

_Harry frowned and shook his head, regretting saying anything. "Lou?"_

_Louis stopped his movements and turned abruptly, giving slight evils to Harry. "You lied to me. You lied to all of us. Why didn't you just tell the truth?" He brought a hand up and placed it on his forehead. "It's not like we'd get mad. We're not homophobic.. and you're our best friend."_

_  
_"Now they know."

Niall puffed out his cheeks and paced a little himself, tucking his phone into his pocket. "Okay." What really surprised Harry was that the boy was actually turning now and starting to walk away. He couldn't help but raise his voice somewhat, shocked at what he was seeing. "Hey!" Niall turned, as if already awaiting for an answer to the infamous  _'what?'_ expression. "I told them.."

"I heard you."

Harry jogged down the steps and over to Niall, basically following him down the sidewalk a little. "That's it? I tell my friends everything to try to win you back and you say  _okay_ and walk away?"

Niall shrugged his shoulders, running his fingers through his hair. "It's not like you were going to go out with me again, anyway." More raised eyebrows. More sudden shock. "If I didn't want to go out with you, I wouldn't have asked you out the first time  _or_ agreed to go out the second time."

"You blew me off the second time!" They stared at eachother for a minute, until Niall turned his head away and sniffled, his eyes more tired than they were when Harry and him first spoke on the steps tonight. 

"I like you, Niall. I want to try this."

Harry watched as the blonde's lips turned up into a half smile. It wasn't much, but it was something. "I promise I won't get jealous either... no matter how many middle aged women you strip for." Niall laughed, tipping his head back slightly. "You're so stupid."

"So..?"

Niall twisted his lips to the side and thought, glancing over at Harry with interest, his head tilted. "Sounds good to me. Now.. uh.. come here." Harry stalked forward, scared Niall might try something. Like take his housekeys and lock him out or slap him.. etcetera. But no, instead he did what Harry surprisingly never expected.

He kissed him.

It was short, closed mouth. Totally elementary level, but Harry didn't care. It was a kiss... a kiss from  _Niall_. And that was enough to send him back inside, leaning against the closed door like a giddy schoolgirl.

 


	5. pretentious

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i lost an entire chapter by accident :'( I really don't want to rewrite this but i want to finish this story cause i really like it so far.

It was a solid week or two since Harry and Niall started going out. They never went on proper dates, though. It was either going out for a meal or a drink, or Harry would tag along for Niall's night shift. 

Their relationship was weird. Not awkward weird or 'hey can i have a lock of your hair' weird, but  _new_   weird. Niall was still trying to figure out if Harry actually liked him or was just playing him. Everything looked good, he was still worried though. But when they walked down the street or when Harry introduced Niall to his friends, he'd refer to him as 'Niall, my stripper boyfriend', earning a small glare from the blonde.

One particular night when Harry went off with Niall to his earlier shift, things got interesting. He was told if he got there early he could leave early aswell. Niall didn't hesitate to take that offer, so he picked Harry up at seven and they arrived at the club towards seven thirty. 

Harry watched the sky the entire time they walked, fascinated how the sky can get so dark in such a short amount of time. 

"Horan!" A girl with curled hair who Harry didn't know called out, and Harry soon found himself being lead over to her. Her and Niall exchanged a few comments before she took off again, leaving the two to themselves. Niall tilted his head back a little and then to the side, grinning cheekily. "Want a tour?"

Before Harry even had time to reply, he was being pulled off in the other direction. _How could someone so small be so strong?_  Niall lead him through almost every room and introduced his boyfriend, smiling up at the curly haired boy who was smiling back at him.

"My shift starts at eight, so we have some spare time, I guess." Niall muttered to himself as he unlocked a door. The threshold was decorated by a string of ivory fairy lights, twinkling and immediately reminding Harry of Christmas. Though something so innocent probably shouldn't be able to related to something at a burlesque club. Niall and Harry wandered in cautiously, checking to make sure no one was around first. It shocked Harry a little more when Niall turned around and somehow casually slammed the door shut. 

"And, our tour ends here. The champagne room." He flipped a switch, turning on quite a few flourescent light fixtures. He grinned, as if this was a work of his own. 

Harry was speechless, and not exactly in the good way. "W-wow."

The blonde stalked over and lightly pushed on Harry's shoulders so he tipped back, thankful for the couch that was behind him. With that, Niall climbed onto his lap, planting a few light kisses on Harry's cheek.

"Man, I can't do this," Harry mumbled, letting his eyes slip closed as the blonde began trailing the kisses down his jaw and neck, "My boyfriend might find out." He placed his hands on Niall's hips, smirking when Niall started to laugh. "I'm sure he won't mind."

He brought his face back up to look Harry in the eyes, his sight flickering from them to his lips, it only taking a few seconds before he had leaned in and kissed him as lightly as possible. He let out a shaky breath and pulled back so he could see what Harry's reaction was. Didn't seem like he was complaining, so he closed the distance again, this time parting his lips.

Harry sighed and moved his hands up a little more so they were just under Niall's ribcage. His heartrate seemed to fasten, not sure if they should really be doing this  _here_ nevertheless at  _work_. It was when he felt a pair of cold hands slide under the hem of his shirt and struggle to undo his belt that he really pulled away. 

"Niall." His tone sounded more like a parent's than anything. Trying to be stern so Niall didn't think that was him saying his name out of pleasure or something. Niall's eyebrows raised and he pulled back aswell. "Please?"

"No.."

Niall frowned, batting his eyelashes, he certainly was playing this up. Harry might've been a pushover, but he was taught the differences between wrong and right. Niall was a roadblock. 

" _Please_."

 

+

 

"Shit, I'm late." Niall said quickly, more or less to himself. Hurrying to put his outfit back together. "We'll talk later, yeah?" Harry nodded and stood up, fixing his shirt as he walked towards the door. As it opened and he left, Harry couldn't help but feel way more unsure than he had before, making a beeline for the exit. 

He stayed home that night, sunken into a beanbag chair. The others asked him multiple times if he was alright - he gave them all the same answer. "Yeah, thanks."

Though he wasn't.

It wasn't because of what happened earlier, it was because he wasn't sure if Niall was just using him or if he liked him. He thought he shouldn't have to think that way, but what if it's true? What if Niall feels the same about him?

That very thought lead to a full night without sleep.


	6. vice

" _Harry? Are you okay?"_ _  
_

_"You haven't answered any of my texts or calls, c'mon what happened?"_

_"Harry, seriously just tell me what i did wrong stop blocking me out."_

_"Babe please call me back."_

_"Y'know what? fine, I don't give a fuck. don't tell me what i did."_

_"Thanks for ditching me the other day, by the way."_

_  
_Harry sighed, equally as distressed as he listened to his voicemail. All fourteen of them were from the same person.

Kicking himself  for letting Niall believe he did something wrong. As he reached across the counter for his phone, the doorbell rang. His muscles tensed, his body telling him not to move, but he did anyways.

Niall was at the door, his hair was mussed, glitter all over his neck and face. His expression was simple and his hands were tucked into the pockets of his coat. "How's your phone? Still broken?"

"It didn't break, Niall."

The blonde raised an eyebrow, blatantly upset through his eyes, but his smile said differently. Though it was painful and crooked, it was there. "So your phone wasn't broken, okay. What did I do wrong?"

Harry swallowed the lump in his throat and peered over his shoulder, there was nothing he could distract himself with. "Nothing. You didn't do anything."

"Oh, so you were just ignoring me, then?"

"No..-"

Niall's hands were impossibly deep in his pockets, and Harry was worried if he pushed any further he'd bore holes into the fabric. "Did you have one of those epiphany things? Have sex with me then realize you should really be getting home to your wife and kids? Just tell me, mate, I've heard all this  _shit_ before." He barked, his head tilted downwards somewhat, overall looking pretty intimidating.

"NIALL."

His expression softened, startled by the sudden change in tone. 

"I'm sorry for not calling you back, I'm sorry for leaving after you  _told_ me to. Remember that?"

"I said we'd talk later, not we'd talk never." Niall retorted, it coming out as more of a mumble, breathing out a puff of visible air. Damn, maybe this would've been a better conversation if it wasn't minus sixty and they weren't standing on the porch freezing their asses off.

Harry looked down at his shoes, furrowing his brow in thought. "I'm scared of you. Of being with you. I want..."

"You want what?" Niall tilted his head.

"I want to know for sure that you're not going to just up and leave when.. _if_ we ever settled down." Harry replied quietly as if he was talking to himself, avoiding eye contact at all costs. The first thing he heard was a scoff, making it almost impossible for him not to look up again.

Niall had moved up a step or two and had removed his hands from his pockets. "Because all  _strippers_ are afraid of commitment?" The emphasis he put on 'strippers' made Harry's breath hitch, partially wincing in fear he'd get some kind of harsh lecture next.

Niall laughed under his breath and shook his head, looking away, down the street. "I'm not afraid. Fuck, I'd settle down with you right now if you asked me to."\

Harry beckoned Niall further up onto the porch, the blonde happily obliged, though staying a few metres away. "I can't see our relationship going anywhere.."

They stood there in the cold air and took a long pause, staring at eachother with confused looks. "Then end it, Harry."

"I don't want to."

Niall's eyes widened impatiently. Yet another groan escaped his lips, as if this whole conversation was a burden. "Make up your fucking mind. Do you want this to happen or not?"

"I do."

"Then do something about it."

Before the window of opportunity to save their relationship opened it was slammed shut and locked, mostly because Niall started talking again. "This looks familiar." Harry nodded in agreement. It really did.

They had an argument remotely different but in this exact spot, not four weeks ago - about the fake girlfriend drama. "Listen, if you say you want me to stay.. I'll stay, you want me to go... I'll go."

Harry cleared his throat and parted his lips. "I trust you. I support you. I havent known you that long, but I really like you. I don't want you to go because if you left, I know I'd never build up the courage to find you again."

That was really all it took. Those few words and suddenly Harry found his arms full and a warm body pressed up to his chest, holding him like a vice. 


	7. novacane

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> love me good, love me long, love me numb

Niall woke up early, unsure why he was feeling an unfamiliar pressure on his spine. He tried to roll over but was stuck.  _Pretty persistant pillows_ , he thought, chuckling to himself at that. The weight suddenly shifted and he froze in his place, feeling an arm retract from where it was originally wrapped around his waist. He then clued in.

He was at Harry's.

He sighed in relief and looked over his shoulder at the sleeping boy, his eyes were slowly blinking open. "Hello." He kept his tone soft, just incase Harry wasn't completely awake yet.

The boy smiled, his eyes closed. "You're awake.. why're you awake." Niall chuckled and rolled over to his other side so he was facing Harry. His singlet rode up his back with this action, now somewhere on the upper half of his body. 

"I thought someone kidnapped me."

Blue eyes met green in a split second. "That's reassuring."

Niall smiled sheepishly and shoved Harry lightly. The silence soon became too much for Niall so he slid out of bed and wandered around aimlessly, picking random things up and putting them down. "Ah sweet." He wrapped his hands around the sides of a camera sitting on the desk and held it up to eyelevel. 

Harry tilted his head against the pillow and watched intently, waiting to see if the blonde would ever figure out that the camera didn't have any film in it, or that it was broken. With no luck, he rolled off the mattress and pulled up his boxers, taking the camera from his hands with a small smirk before replacing the empty space with one of his hands in Niall's.

They walked out of the room and into the living room, towards the kitchen to make breakfast. Despite the fact it was six in the morning and no one else was awake, not even the sun. On the way, Niall stopped Harry, gasping. Harry turned to see what was wrong - looking all around the room. Niall was clinging onto his side, pointing to the spot beside the couch where a siberian husky sat silently, looking at the wall.

"What's that?" Niall whispered, his eyes wide. Harry lowered his voice to a whisper and paused, leaning into Niall. "It's a dog."

Niall wound back and slapped Harry's bicep. "Why the fuck is it staring at a wall," He never took his eyes off the dog. Harry tugged on his arm to try to drag him into the kitchen, pleading and whining that he was too hungry and it's mean to keep his stomach waiting.

Knowing he wouldn't get a reaction anytime soon, he sighed. "It's Zayn's dog, Novacane."

Niall's eyes widened and he gaped at the dog, tilting his head to the side in confusion. "Like.. the song?" He asked incredulously. "Like the Frank Ocean song?"

Harry nodded simply and drew his lips into a thin line. "Precisely." Silence. Novacane kept staring intently at the wall, his tail wagging back and forth occasionally. "Cause he was born without nerve endings, so he just sits there, kinda numb. Like novacane."

"Hence the name," Niall looked up at Harry in awe. "That's amazing. If you saw my dog back home you'd probably be shocked by how much snow he eats." His tone stayed even through the whole sentence, making Harry chuckle gently in return.

The dog's tail stopped wagging suddenly, and it flopped over onto it's side and started to snore loudly. Laughter erupted from both of the boys. "Breakfast?"

Harry gently wrapped his hand around Niall's wrist and pulled him into the kitchen, flicking the light on. "I voted on naming him Focus, because it made the most sense, but in all seriousness... Novacane fits much better."

Niall smiled and sat down on one of the stools infront of the breakfast bar. "Naming pets is so fun. You wouldn't name a kid half these names. It's great." He giggled dreamily and leaned his elbows on the marble counter. Harry grinned and nodded in agreement, pulling some food out of the fridge and pantry to start making breakfast.

"Do you want kids?" 

Harry tenses, his eyebrows raising. "I don't.. know yet. Maybe."

"I do." Niall sighs, still smiling. "I want two."

Harry nibbled on his lip, not being able to help but smile, glancing over his shoulder at the blonde beauty before him. "Would you ever stop... " He waved his right hand around a little in search for the right word. " _Dancing_ , if you had kids?"

Niall hummed in thought, fiddling with his fingers, still in a dreamy state. 

"I mean, under what circumstances would you stop stripping and..yeah."

The same humming noise filled the room, it being more of a song at this point, Niall's eyes were every where else but Harry's. "None." He was feeding off of Harry's surprised expression, no matter how hard the curly haired lad tried to hide it. "I like my job, Harry." He said softly, his lips twisting into a small frown.

Harry turned and walked towards the island in the middle of the kitchen. "That's good." Niall nodded as if to confirm there was no arguing needing, seeing as he wouldn't partake in any anyways. 

"But you're not going to strip forever, right?"

"Why? Are you jealous?" Niall smirked smugly, reaching out for Harry's hand, playing with his fingers instead. Harry shook his head. "No... I'm just wondering."

Novacane began to softly bark in his sleep, kicking his legs out to the side a little bit - it looked like he was dreaming about running than anything. "I'm  _fine_ , I swear. I love my job.. I don't know if this is like a lifetime career. Probably not when I'm eighty and relying on hearing aids and viagra, but until then..."

Harry cleared his throat, walking around the counter, wrapping his arms around Niall's slender waist, sighing into the juncture of his neck. "Hearing aids and viagra, interesting combination." 

Niall smiled brightly and nuzzled back into Harry. "Go hand in hand. Y'know."

"But really? _Viagra_?"

"Well, I'm not going to be needing it for a while.. so.." He threaded his fingers through Harry's curls. "Let my love adorn you."

Harry ruined the slight moment that was blossoming, laughing obnoxiously. "Don't quote Miguel."

Niall ignored him and slid off the stool, bypassing the fact they came in here to have breakfast, sauntering back towards the bedroom. "Don't you let nobody tell you different, babe. Let my love adorn you." He grinned to himself, slipping back inside the room. Harry watched and listened as he continued singing, following after him soon enough.

 


	8. love, almost

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> song; love almost everybody by the dandy warhols :)) omfg why did i write lost instead of love

Harry panted as lightly as he could, rolling off to the empty side of the bed. Niall laughed and reached over to the bedside table, turning on the lamp. "I knew you'd fall for the Miguel bit."

The boy continued panting, staring blankly up at the ceiling. Niall was a little out of breath too, but apparently not as much as the other. Harry turned his head to the side and glared playfully. "I didn't fall for anything. If anything, you fell for the Harry bit."

"The  _Harry_ bit, eh? Never heard of that one before." Niall grinned smugly and pressed a chaste kiss to Harry's nose then rolled out of bed, taking the sheet with him. He wrapped it loosely around his shoulders and let it waterfall down his frame, till it was covering his entire body. Leaving Harry on the bed with nothing but the duvet that was now half off the mattress. 

The blonde ruffled up his hair with the hand that wasn't holding the sheet, stepping infront of the mirror by the door, perfecting his morning hair. Harry whined and crawled to the end of the bed, having gotten dressed a bit in the past minute or so, reaching out and yanking the sheet out of Niall's grip. He chuckled, almost obnoxiously, watching Niall scramble to pull on any piece of clothing in the radius.

"Oh come on," Harry cooed, raising his eyebrows as he realized his blue eyed  _lover_ was now wearing _his_ boxers. "I should probably go." Niall said, taking off the pants and replacing them with his own, adding on the rest of his clothes as he found them. One of which was Harry's shirt, but he didn't mind and Harry didn't seem to either.

Harry pouted and stood up, walking over to him and wrapping an arm around his waist from the side. "I thought you had today off."

"I do." Niall replied gently, smiling. Harry scoffed. "Oh I don't think so. Niall Horan you are not turning this into a hump-&-dump." 

His comment just got a small laugh and a harsh but playful shove to the shoulder. "No, but I'm not emotionally ready to meet your extended family." Harry nodded and nuzzled his face into Niall's shoulder. "Call me though, yeah?"

"Yeah." And they kissed, then Niall left the room and the quiet house, closing the door behind him with a soft 'click'.

Once he was gone, Harry trailed out into the living room, grinning like a fool. He stretched his arms out and said a rhetorical 'hello' to the dog, who wagged it's tail once then fell to it's side again. 

Much to his surpise (not really), not one soul was up yet. He could tell someone had come downstairs briefly, having left out some items from the pantry. Oh right, it was him.

He sighed but it quickly turned into a song he didn't even know existed, humming lightly as he wandered around in search of something to do. The dog was sitting patiently by the front door, laying down right under the hook where his leash and collar were hung.

Harry smiled and lifted it off the brass hook, sliding it onto Nova's neck whilst he stepped into his shoes and pulled on a coat. He grabbed his housekeys and opened the door, walking out.

It wasn't too cold out, thankfully, just a bit on the cold side. The sky was lightening up gradually, so the streetlights were fading. 

Novacane tugged on his leash, nearly yanking it right out of Harry's fingers. It didn't take long for the tugging to finally pay off on Nova's behalf, and he pulled free of Harry's restraints, taking off down the street.

Once Harry realized what had just happened, he called out, picking up a running pace after the rapid canine. "Shit." He muttered to himself. 

The dog kept turning corners and momentarily losing Harry. This whole situation confused Harry. What was the dog running from? What was he chasing?

Harry panted heavily, tiredly, watching as the dog disappeared around another corner and down an alleyway. Zayn would not be happy with this. He'd probably yell at Harry then get slapped somewhere by Perrie who'd tell him to stop being rude and assure Harry that it wasn't his fault, that  _someone_ should've taken Novacane to every obidence class and that they'd keep looking for him. 

He didn't think the sound of a dog barking and a human laughing and falling to the ground could ever sound so good. He rounded the side of the building and pressed a hand to his chest, rushing over to the guy to help him up. He kept laughing and graciously took Harry's hand (not literally, of course) pulling himself back into a standing position. "This your dog?"

Harry nodded hurriedly, his next move to hook Novacane back up to his leash, making sure everything was secure. "Thank you for.. y'know.. falling." He smiled, patting Nova's head. "For stopping him, he's a crazy ass.. I don't know how much longer I could've ran to catch up with him." The man laughed in response, and Harry decided they were already making too much eyecontact so he looked away first. 

"No worries. Well... I'll just.." With that, he started off down the alley again. Harry opened his mouth to say something but nothing came out, so he just followed the man's movements, not physically - just with his eyes. He turned his body around to walk back to the house, stopped when the man spoke again. "Hey uh, new leash might work better." He smiled kindly.

Harry observed the one he was gripping in his right hand, it was pretty worn out looking, probably since Louis had claimed he found it ontop of a recycling bin outside the movie theatre. He also said it reminded him of Nova... mostly because it made his hand numb out a little bit after holding it on the walk home. 

But when he looked up again, the guy was gone. 


	9. every part of you

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> every part of you by edward sharpe and the magnetic zeros ♥

The door closed a little too loudly for Harry's tastes, but apparently not for Zayn's. He was in the living room on the couch, cross legged, on his phone. Harry unhooked Novacane from his collar and hung it back up on the hook. "Thanks for taking him out, I've been procrastinating since I don't know when." Zayn muttered from the sofa, not taking his eyes off his phone until the dog wriggled it's way over to him and cuddled up to his side. His eyes skeptically searched Harry's face. "What happened?"

 Harry shrugged himself out of his coat sleeves and draped the material over the back of an arm chair. "I took him out, right, and we bumped into this guy in the alley and.."

 

"Oh god." Zayn turned off his phone and crawled off the sofa hurriedly, grabbing Harry's shoulders. "Did he do anything to you?" Harry furrowed his brow and took the hands off his shoulders, shaking his head.

 

They stared at eachother for a little while with narrowed eyes, questioning looks, until Harry spoke again. "No. He just fell and then.."

 

"You pushed him?"

 

"Novacane did." Zayn snapped his head in the direction of the sleeping dog, then back to Harry. "Go on." Harry simply shrugged in reply and sauntered about, sitting on the arm of a chair. "He laughed it off and yeah, I helped him up. Then he said something about the leash and.."

 "That bastard."

  "Zayn." Harry laughed, leaning over until he was on the actual chair itself and not just the arm. "And..? You like him? What happened to Kyle I thought you liked him." They were both biting on their lips nervously, looking around as they always to do avoid eyecontact in awkward situations.

 

Harry narrowed his eyes as he thought of who kyle could be and why he'd like him. "Niall?" He scrunched up his nose like a cat who'd been sprayed with water, confused. "Of course I do.. but.."

 

"Harold, no. You really should be focusing on your current relationship intead of the one you want to happen." It looked like Zayn shocked himself with what he was saying, his eyes grew wide. "Plus, this other guy could turn out to be a total creep."

 

A faint ringing noise sounded from the pocket of a coat, and both boys dove for it, Zayn winning the pre-established tug o' war. He held the coat closely to his chest and dug through the pocket for the phone, holding it up and letting the jacket fall to the floor. Harry whined and scrambled across the back of the chair to reach for it. "Harry! I'm not letting you ruin your relationship just because you met a guy who potentially saved my dog. Nope, not today." Finally the dial stopped, but soon enough it started up again. Zayn checked the screen as he tried holding it out of Harry's reach. "It's Niall." 

"Don't even.." There was so much else he wanted to say, but the only thing he could manage to get out was those words. He wanted to tell him that he didn't even have the guy's number, or that he wasn't interested in anyone else but-

"Hey Niall! Yeah no, sorry. This is his friend, Zayn. Mhm. Oh right.. he's right here, one second." Zayn grinned almost scarily and passed the phone to Harry like it was sacred. "He wants you." He whispered and Harry shoved him away, back to the couch where he continued on his phone scrolling through his texts and such. "Niall?"

_"Hey, Haz. I have some really really great news, ok. When can I see you again?"_

_  
_Harry nibbled on his lip as he thought. "I'm off work at five-thirty, how about I stop by?"

 _"Perfect. See you later, love."_ Harry grinned childishly and brought his hand up to his mouth, absentmindedly biting lightly on his knuckle. "Alright." He pressed the phone to his chest as he hung up, sighing and waiting around a little. "He says  _love_." Harry said dreamily, mimicking Niall's Irish accent.

"Wow, and water is wet. Harry, you say  _love_  all the time." Zayn chuckled softly.

Harry tossed himself at the sofa, sprawling across it, draping his legs over Zayn's crossed ones. Perrie wandered downstairs, dressed in a casual outfit, looking adorable as always. She stopped near the couch and planted a kiss on Zayn's lips and smiled warmly to Harry. "Morning."

"Morning, babe." Said Zayn, turning off his phone and pulling his girlfriend into his lap.

Harry observed their coupley behavior closely, wondering why every couple is so different but so similar. "Harry's boyfriend is a stripper."

Perrie gawked at the boys, at a loss for words, she moved her jaw a few times but nothing came out. "Nice?" She laughed at her own stuttered reply, patting Harry's head. "He's an exotic dancer, and he's great." Harry added, closing his eyes and settling into his spot on the sofa. "His name's Niall."

"Sounds nice. Let's meet him sometime, yeah?"

"Yeah, for sure."

She explained she was heading out for a bit with her girlfriends and kissed Zayn a few more times, they smiled brightly at eachother and then she stood up and left. "She's something, isn't she." Zayn bit his lip, leaning back on the sofa - patting Nova aimlessly. The way he spoke made Harry really believe he wasn't faking this whole love thing. "She's wonderful. You're really lucky."

Love. What could it be good for?

..

Absolutely  _everything_.


	10. joel

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> more or less a character summary / character profile   
> you can skip this if you want :) it's just incase you wanted to know who the random guy was in chapter (idek 8) since i'll probably only keep him around for a little since he's basically irrelevant lol

Joel Theron

Pretty average name, yes? That's exactly what his parents loved about it and what he, himself, hated about it. 

He was tall enough, reasonably weighed, worked out every Sunday afternoon at eight pm sharp. His eyes were a piercing blue that were definietly not as appreciated as they should be, almost always hidden behind a pair of too-expensive raybans. 

He spikes his hair, which is auburn coloured. Has a cute, button nose (from his mother's side) and a hideous cherry bomb tattoo on his left shoulder he got when he was seventeen years old.

When he was walking down the alley that day, before being playfully mauled by a scruffy mop of a dog, he had just come from his friend -  _friend_ \- 's flat. They hadn't argued for the first time in what seemed like months.

"This your dog?" He said to a curly haired boy, taking in his appearance as quickly as he could so he wouldn't get caught staring. He brushed off his clothes as he was helped up, offering a kind smile to the shy boy before him.

After a short and sweetly awkward conversation he was on his way again, but then stopped himself. The leash. Was this boy homeless or..?

"New leash might be better." He added thoughtfully, blinking a few times harshly before continuing on his way. Damn. This boy must think he's nothing short of insane. Why'd he suddenly think it's his place to suggest? What if the boy really was homeless... and he couldn't afford proper care for his dog..

Uh oh, here come the racing thoughts.

For the next hour, as he sat in his empty flat, he thought and thought and  _thought_.

His mind was fogged, slightly cleared when his phone rang. He answered on the second ring as always. "Hey, babe."

 _"Hey, so I have some really really really good news. Um, mind stopping by later so we can talk?"_ He grinned brightly at the familiar tone, biting the inside of his cheek. "Yeah, sure."

" _Right, see you later, love."_


	11. elastic heart

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> elastic heart by sia & the weeknd

"Harry fucking Styles." Harry's eyebrows raised curiously as he looked around. He was standing in the doorway of the building, recieving dirty looks from the lady who was taking in admission fees. Stefan sauntered over to him and opened the half-door, pulling Harry in by the sleeve. 

The woman scoffed and shook her head. "That would be ten percent of my salary you just threw away, thank you."

Stefan smiled apologetically but made no hesitation to keep pulling Harry along. "Sorry." They quickly made their way into the club, and into the back section where all the outfits were, dressing rooms, etc. "Niall told me to look for a curly haired lad and bring him in right away, I'm one thousand percent sure you're him, so.. he's back there." He pointed to a door then disappeared back into the club.

Harry looked behind him and then to the door again, walking towards it and pulling it open. Inside wasn't anything special, just an office that looked like it belonged in a middle school. Niall was sitting in the swivel chair completely distracted by his phone. He looked up once Harry cleared his throat, smiling lightly. "Hey."

"Hey! Thank god. I thought you were lost or something.. anyways, sit down." Niall grinned ear-to-ear, nodding towards the plushy seat infront of the desk. Harry obliged and sat down. "What happened?"

Niall kept grinning, sending one last text before turning his phone off and shoving it in his pocket. "I had today off, yeah? My boss called me in literally a minute after I left your flat and so I did.. and he promoted me." Harry could tell there was more, so he just smiled and raised his eyebrows. "I'm going to the london branch, as a manager. Finally."

Harry's smile, though already small, seemed to falter. London? " _London?_ " There was blatant disappointment in his tone, and Niall picked up on it. "Babe.."

"No, um.. It's great. How long are you there for?" Maybe it was a vacation type thing, maybe he packed a small case and stayed in a hotel..or maybe- "Two months." Do any hotels in London let you stay for over a week even?

They sat in uncomfortable silence. Harry glared, Niall frowned. "So why're you in here?" Harry glanced around. 

Niall shrugged his shoulders casually and stood up, pulling down the hem of his hoodie slightly so it wasn't riding up his torso. "Was doing paperwork when the heating kicked in so I decided to stay." 

Why couldn't he decide to  _stay_ , though.  _Here_ , not in London. There were no Harry's in London. "Don't." His choice of words..  _word_  confused Niall. "Harry, it's done. I've already signed the papers. It's two months, too.. don't even-" _  
_

Both boys quickly looked to the threshold as someone knocked on the door. It was a guy, obviously not an employee as he looked as nervous as Harry did when he first walked in. "Nialler?"

Niall sighed with a thankful smile, stepping past Harry and enveloping the guy in a hug.

Harry watched curiously, his eyes wide - thinking, _the guy from the alley? no.. it can't be.._  Niall's hands were around his neck like when he hugged Harry. Hm.

Say something? Clear your throat confidently and wait to be introduced to, even though it was only partially necessary.. or step over to Niall when they pull away and hug him? He thought them, but didn't do them. He watched and watched as they hugged and as the guy whispered into Niall's ear and made Niall giggle. It's like they didn't even know he was there.

"Hi." Harry said between a fake cough. Niall snapped out of whatever phase he was in and ripped his arms away from the other, launching himself at Harry and basically draping himself over him like a curtain. "Sorry, babe. This is my mate from highschool.. Joel. Joel, this is my boyfriend, Harry." 

 _Joel_ nodded shyly and smiled the same, holding his hands behind his back. Harry suddenly wasn't as frustrated, noting that he wasn't rude, just shy. 

"Alright, well.. I was just telling Harry how I was promoted earlier. I'm going to London." Joel beamed and clapped his hands together once. "That's lovely. I'm so happy for you."

Niall shot a quick look at Harry as if to say 'see, that's how a good boyfriend should act', then turned back to his friend and smiled back at him. 


	12. all the trees

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> all the trees of the field will clap their hands by sufjan stevens

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> to clear up the confusion from the last chapter..  
> harry and joel were both talking to niall on the phone alrighty.  
> hopefully it clears some stuff up haha
> 
> p.s.
> 
> this chapter still makes no sense

It was nine at night, three days later.

" _Harold_."

He could hear his mother grinning through the phone, it had been a looong time since they'd last spoken. "Hi, mom."

" _How's your guy?_ " 

Harry began to bite his fingernails nervously, under the illusion he had replied until his mother's tone changed from happy to worried. " _Louis rang me and told me all about him.. I mean sure.. I'm a little mad you didn't tell me first but it's really exciting! He said he dances_."

"Sure does. Yeah, he's great.. um, he's in London right now but he'll be back soon." Harry clenched his fist tightly and lowered it from his mouth to minimize the distraction. " _Oh_." Anne, his mother, said softly. 

He could've sworn this was the most awkward conversation he's ever had with her, it was like they didn't even know eachother. Soon enough they both announced they should go since they had other things to do. Harry was lying, he just wanted to crawl into a hole and die.

Perrie and Zayn walked in on a very.. different Harry. He was sitting upright, wearing the same clothes, in the same spot, doing the same thing as he had been when they left however many hours ago. Zayn stepped between Harry and the turned off tele, waving his hands around slightly. "Harry?"

Harry didn't reply. He tilted his head up slowly and forced some kind of emotion. This particular one being nothing short of heartbreaking. There was no doubt he was fighting the urge to cry a little bit. "Hey.." Zayn lowered his voice and scrambled over to his friend, wrapping a careful arm around his shoulders. 

Perrie stood and watched from the doorway, her head to the side. 

"What's wrong? You seemed fine when we left."

-

" _Alright, well.. I was just telling Harry how I was promoted earlier. I'm going to London." Joel beamed and clapped his hands together once. "That's lovely. I'm so happy for you."_

 _Niall shot a quick look at Harry as if to say 'see, that's how a good boyfriend should act', then turned back to his friend and smiled back at him._  

_Joel blinked his wide eyes quite a lot, looking at the floor and then back up suddenly, smiling the brightest he has this entire time. "How's the dog?"_

_They exhanged looks, Niall's was mainly confused. No replies yet filled the awkward atmosphere. "He's.. good."_

_"The dog?" Niall blurted, his eyebrows raised skyhigh._

_Joel brought a hand up to scratch at the back of his neck. "Uh.. yeah. His dog." Niall was in shock from the looks of it. Harry whimpered but forced the most genuine looking smile he could muster. "Earlier today, I was walking back from a friend's and his dog sorta jumped me, then he came by and helped me up."_

_Once again with the looks._

_"So you already know eachother?"_

_"No," Harry retorted on the spot, his eyes wide aswell, "I mean, we didn't tell names. I took Zayn's dog out on a walk and he got out of his leash and ran away, then.. yeah."_

_Niall exhaled and Harry couldn't tell if he was confused or mad. Or both?  "Well, ok." he smiled sheepishly._

_-_

_  
_For the rest of the night, Harry sat in his room by himself. He almost missed Liam sauntering into the room. "You know, _this_ is starting to get ridiculous." He gestured around and then to Harry. 

"Excuse me?"

"The way you're trying to have a serious relationship with him is really unsettling. It's going to start looking like you're throwing yourself at him sooner or later." Liam furrowed his brow, sitting down on the end of the unslept-in bed. "You're the kind of person who likes commitment, he's the kind of person who fucks up someone else's commitment."

Harry laughed under his breath, shaking his head back and forth smoothly. Though not disagreeing.

Liam watched his face with narrowed eyes. "This is stupid. This whole thing is just... Out of all the stupid things you've done this is definietly the worst." His sight stayed set on his curly haired friend. "Why did you leave here happy and come back in mid-life crisis mode?"

"Because." Harry started, still laughing, Liam not taking note how it was slowly turning into a sob. "He's gone for two months anyways."

-

_"So you're friends from highschool?" Harry asked in the midst of clearing his throat, trying desperately to change the subject, atleast a little. Joel and Niall smiled at eachother slightly and Niall nodded in confirmation. "We dated."_

_Harry couldn't help but try to atleast force another smile to make it look like he wasn't bothered, but it still seemed sad and or painful. A few words later and Joel had excused himself and left the room, leaving Niall and Harry to angrily stare at eachother._

_"What did he mean? I heard what he said.. he said 'dating'. What's that supposed to mean?"_

_Niall laughed anxiously and pushed past Harry yet again. "It was barely dating, it was casual.. like an open relationship, so there was nothing to break off, so I guess you could say we haven't.. broken up yet."_

_Harry whimpered again, looking down at his shoes. "Oh." He swallowed the lump that was seemingly stuck in his throat, preventing him from both talking and possibly sobbing until there was only 5% water left in his body. "S'cuse me," Then he quickly and uncoordinatedly walked out._

_-_

_  
_"He let you leave?"

Harry shook his head. "But I didn't want to stay."

Liam stood up, his eyebrows furrowed together as he paced and thought out loud. "London is only an hour away from here... we'll take my car that way we can take weapons and then you can sit back while I -"

"Liam."

Who gave him the title of **sensible**? Harry furiously and aimlessly clicked the 'home' button on his phone, shaking his head again. "He was sorry about it. Didn't even act like it wasn't a big deal."

"Did he really, sincerely apologize? Is he going to officially break up with him?"

"He can't! You would know, if the relationship is open you can't break up with them, you just stop seeing them."

Liam rolled his eyes, cursing under his breath. "He's still seeing him, Harry. Obviously, or else he wouldn't have come in that one time."

Harry let out a frustrated sigh as he tried to settle on one emotion instead of mixed ones, falling back on the mattress lazily. "Fuck, nevermind."

Then came the loud exhale, the footsteps and the door slamming. Like he was in middle school all over again.

 


	13. whats eating harry styles

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> short, sorry :p

The doorbell rang at ten at night sharp, four months later. Harry ran to get it like he did every time the doorbell rang.

When he opened the door, he sighed in relief, pulling the slightly smaller figure in for a bear hug. "Niall." He said shakily, sighing into the side of Niall's neck. Niall hugged him just as tightly, and it took Harry quite a few moments of silence to realize he was crying.

"Niall?"

The blonde tilted his head up so his eyes would meet Harry's, they were red and the waterlines were full to the brim with tears. "They wouldn't let me leave." He said between broken sobs. If he hadn't looked down, Harry surely would've started to cry aswell. 

"What do you.."

Niall melted into the touch, leaning 99.9% of his weight on Harry. And as much as Harry wanted to be mad, wanted to push him for a proper answer.. he didn't, he lead his boyfriend inside and closed the door. They went into the kitchen, the whole time basically attached at the hip. Niall was choking back broken sobs as he sat down at the table, resting his head in his hands.

Not two seconds later, a very concerned looking group of young adults wandered in, still dressed in their day clothes. Louis explained that they were all watching a movie in the man cave - corrected quickly by Perrie who coughed and said 'den' - and heard crying from upstairs.

Harry glanced over at Niall who was collecting himself and walking over to the group timidly. 

They all cleared their throats simultaneously and smiled as reassuringly as they could. "I'm Perrie." The blonde offered a hand to which Niall sniffled and accepted, shaking it. "Niall."

It didn't surprise anyone one bit how it went from a formal handshake to a heartfelt hug, like they hadn't seen eachother in years. "Louis, Zayn, Liam." Liam said, pointing around the room to the lads who Niall hadn't talked to yet.

"Nice to meet you." Niall replied, pulling out of the hug. "I'm really sorry I just.." Then he dove towards Harry again, not crying this time. 

About an hour later found Harry and Niall huddled close under Harry's duvet. He was listening to Niall's explaination and how he was so scared that he'd be mad at him for being there two months longer than planned. "He told me I was 'too good to lose' and asked me for a fulltime escort position. When I said no he cancelled my train ticket,"

Harry didn't really know what to say, so he stayed silent and let his fingers trail up and down Niall's arm in a soothing motion. 

Morning arrived oddly quickly like it had been a flick of a lightswitch. Niall's limbs were wrapped awkwardly around Harry's body but he didn't make any effort to move them. Instead they lay there in peace, letting themselves be woken up by the kind of pathetic amount of light that was pouring through the curtains. It was raining cats and dogs outside already. "Hello." Niall squeaked, stretching out. 

"Hey." Harry took in the sight of the sleepy boy, er.. man, tauting his fingers against his hipbone. "Sleep well?" He made sure to keep his voice soft considering neither of them were awake fully. There was a hint of a smile on his lips.

"Yeah, thank you so much by the way... How about you?"

"No worries, and me too."

He had to admit, that was a lie. All night he had the same nightmare in a series. It was Niall coming home with wounds all over his body - then he woke up. Second was him finding out Niall had been in an accident or somehow killed whilst in London - then he woke up again, panting. Next was Niall not coming home at all, not being heard from, nothing - then he opened his eyes but stayed put, calming down and telling himself that it was all an illusion.. Niall was safe and right next to him. Nothing could happen to him.

"I really missed you, Harry." Niall cuddled up impossibly closer, shutting his eyes and letting out a small sigh. Harry bit down on the inside of his cheek to keep from asking any stupid questions or even crying, not letting up his grasp anytime soon. "I missed you so much."


	14. terribly terribly terribly moody

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> who saw the jonathan ross interview? omfg. soooo many narry moments and implications
> 
> song; human behavior by bjork

Harry may or may not be watching Niall eat, sitting across from him at the table while the boys ate their reasonably early lunch.

May or may not be in awe watching Niall eat. “I told you, I brought a whole box..there’s more in the fridge.” Niall quirked an eyebrow and lowered the taco from his mouth.

Harry chuckled lowly and shook his head “No.. it’s ok. I was just, you eat in circles.”

"I, uh.. what?"

Niall stared at him with questioning eyes, holding the half eaten taco with both hands. “You turn your food in circles when you eat it.”

The way Niall blushed like he was embarrassed made Harry feel guilty. Maybe there was still time to save his ass? “It’s adorable.” 

Niall rolled his eyes playfully but beamed brighter than looked possible. He opened his mouth to speak, but was cut off by a voice on the other side of the room.

All four boys at the table snapped their heads in that direction at the same moment, their eyebrows raised questioningly.

Zayn stood there, hand in hand with Perrie. He cleared his throat and twisted his lips to the side slightly to try to conceal his bright smile. “I..  _we_ have an announcement.”

He looked to Perrie and then to his friends who were looking like they were growing impatient by the second. “We’re getting married.”

Liam chuckled and tore both ends off of his burrito, “We know.” He then popped a bit of the tortilla wrap in his mouth. “We heard you mention it multiple times last night, and I’m guessing you weren’t practising your enthusiasm for how you were going to tell us.” Louis piped in, shoving an end of his taco in his mouth entirely.

Niall decided to pitch in and let out a loud but playful moan, closing his eyes tightly and rocking back and forth in his chair. Harry, Louis, Liam and even Zayn couldn’t hold in their laughter. 

Perrie looked petrified, her eyes awkwardly wide. She flung an arm out and slapped the laughter right out of Zayn, who coughed and muttered an apology. 

"Ugh, ugh.. fuck. Imagine our honeymoon." Harry said between grunts. Playing along with Niall’s teasing antics. "Okay, ok. We’re sorry. But you two have really loud sex."

The laughter slowly died down and now was somewhere around nervous giggles. “Harry, you recorded it.” Perrie tilted her head at that, seemingly unable to keep her eyes at a normal human size. She turned on her heel and dragged Zayn out of the room.

"Oh god." Niall said, sighing contently. "That’s great you two! Congratulations!" He called out shortly after, grinning just as contently when he received two ‘thank you’s’. The others called congratulations after Niall did, albeit muffled together in one big collection of nonsense.

-

"We talked about marriage.. right?" 

Harry drew his bottom lip in and nibbled on it, contemplating an answer. “We did.”

Niall and him were laying in bed, atop the covers, not having the energy to wait a few more hours until it was actually dark enough to go to sleep. So they stayed up and talked, staring blankly at the ceiling as they thought of things to talk about. “Do you think we’d ever..”

"We would."

He could almost see the smile on his face. Scared at first that his comment had made Niall uncomfortable, but immediately reassured. “I love you, y’know.”

Niall laughed softly, turning over and dragging the fleece blanket over his shoulders. “I know.”


	15. goldroom

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> very very very lil bit a smut  
> hope you dont mind  
> dont show my mom  
> jk but really
> 
> song(s); fifteen by goldroom ft. chela (oxford remix) && give me a reason by tracy chapman (the tailors djs remix)

"Maybe - we - should - get - ugh - suits." Niall managed out, his eyes shut tightly. Harry nodded in attempt to get him to shut up, digging his fingertips into the blonde's bare hips. Right before he could even try to reply properly there was an obnoxious knock at the door and Niall froze impressively, pulling the sheet up behind him so it covered his lower half more than it already did, just in case someone decided to barge in.

Of course they did. It being Zayn, he made no eye contact with the two but instead bustled about in search of something - basically running out into the hallway once he found it. "Your sex is louder, hypocrites."

Niall buried his face in Harry's shoulder and laughed slightly, his movement quickly transitioning into another, which was him moving off the bed - yet again taking the sheet with him. "Where are you going?" Harry whined, pulling a fleece blanket up around him. 

"Work. I have a shift at nine and if I don't leave now I'll be late. Really late."

"You got your job back?"

Niall furrowed his brow, turning his head to look at the brunet who was awkwardly perched on the bed. "What?"

Harry stood up, wrapping the blanket tighter around himself. "Usually when you get promoted to a different branch you don't keep your old job."

"Maybe at a firm or something." Niall replied in a hushed tone, leaning up to kiss Harry lightly. He dropped the sheet and quickly replaced it with all his clothes, checking his reflection in the mirror before heading out. "I'll be back later on. G'night." 

-

There definietly were pluses to every season. Winter was snuggle weather - slash - sweater weather ; Spring was all floraly ; Summer was warm and playful and Fall was.. well..

Fall?

Leaves, pumpkins and things. Niall's favourite season though, so Harry adapted to it. He started to love it, but just as he did.. winter rolled around. Now it was spring, and despite the fact it wasn't fall.. Harry blessed the salespeople at Topman who rang in all the short sleeved commes de garcons Niall had bought. In bulk.

He also blessed his grandmother, who knitted him a maroon scarf that he was wearing right now as he waited outside the Onyx. Niall walked out not three minutes after he got there, smiling brightly - covered head to toe in body glitter. "Right on time."

They walked down the street a little, and right as Harry was about to turn to walk down towards the house, he stopped. "Where do you even live?"

Niall looked amused  _and_ confused. "In a flat, like your house, but smaller.. one floor."

"Can I see it?"

"Um.. no. It's really messy. I haven't even been in there properly since last February." He chuckled nervously. Harry sighed lightly to himself, absentmindedly pulling the hem of his scarf. "Pleaaase."

 

"So." Niall said plainly as he opened the door a little more. Of course he'd given in, if you'd ever been pestered by Harry Styles you'd either cave or punch him in the neck. Niall was too nice for that. So here they were.

Harry grinned and sauntered in, making sure to visit every room. "It's really nice. You said it'd be messy." He pivoted on his heel to glance over at Niall. "It is."

"You must think my place is awful, then."

"No.. your's is really cute. It's cozy and nice."

Harry laughed. "Cozy, meaning premature hoarding: buried alive set."

His arm stung a little, what with being punched by a surprisingly strong blonde who was no more than 5'6. But height didn't matter, did it, he still felt more injured (if possible) than he had when he fell off his roof and broke both of his arms when he was seven.

"You have a dog?"

Niall beamed, picking up the picture frame. "He's the one who eats snow."

"Oh my."

The two laughed and talked and hit eachother a bit, then finally locked the place up again and headed back over to Harry's. He finally took notice how Niall had basically ditched his own home to move in with Harry, but Harry didn't mind.

Niall wasn't just in it for money or shelter, or else he wouldn't even have an apartment of his own, he wanted community. Or so it looked. 

As they walked, Harry thought of more and more questions, only daring to ask one of the many. "Are the bills a lot?" Niall shook his head. "I'm never in there at night so I don't turn on the lights, I don't cook, I don't watch tele... the only thing I pay is the water and heating. So that's like.. nothing." He reached out and tugged at Harry's scarf, his lips upturned into a small smirk. 

"You could always move in with me? Sell your place, stuff.. y'know."

"Sounds cool but.. nah. I mean, I'll help out with the taxes and stuff but other than that.. I really hate realestate agents and shit like that."

And shit like that. 

 


	16. sweet talk

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sweet talk by kito feat. reija lee
> 
> ok so chrome crashed again  
> rewriting another chapter
> 
> i love harry potter and harry styles

Four months is long enough to end unwanted relationships with old flames.. isn't it?

Apparently not in this case.

Nope.

"What do you mean?" Harry asked, his breath uneven, fists balled at his sides. His eyes were blatantly full of anger, visually searching Niall's face. Niall tried to pretend like he wasn't here being interrogated, clutching his fingers tighter and tighter around the cloth in his hand. "Niall?"

Niall continuously wiped down the bar counter, although it'd been clean since about five minutes ago. Kind of bothered Harry how he ended up being right about what he said, about Niall losing his job. He basically had to beg his boss to let him have the part-time position he had now, a barista. He only served coffee, which no one ordered unless they were piss drunk and offered it by an attractive waitress.

"You said you'd end it. And it's either that or _we're_ over." Harry stated, but it didn't seem to phase the blonde on the other side of the counter not to mention spectrum. "I have to work, Harry."

"Oh, I'm sorry. I forgot you had a real job now, instead of being some cheap whore." His dig came out as a mutter if anything, but Niall didn't fail to hear it, blue eyes gradually locking with green. His jaw tensed and relaxed, not giving any warning before winding his hand back and hitting Harry..  _hard_.

Harry stared at him in awe, opening his mouth to talk. "Nialler?" Except the words didn't escape his mouth. Niall was looking over Harry's shoulder, so he decided he would too. They gawked at the figure standing not three metres away from the bar. Stefan.

"Nialler what's happening." He asked softly and circled the bar, wrapping his arms protectively around Niall's waist. Stefan 'discreetly' gave Harry a onceover. There was a brief moment of incredibly awkward silence. Well no duh. "Nothing. Just.. can you take me home?"

"Yeah, 'course. Let's go." Stefan guided the slightly shorter man towards the exit, his eyes watching Harry's every stiff movement before they disappeared around the corner.

-

The movie kept playing, volume at a reasonably high level. Louis, Harry and Liam were dead focused on the tele screen whilst Perrie whispered occasionally to Zayn and scribbled down notes in a big ass folder labelled 'WEDDING PLANS'.

As they reached the part with the room of requirement, Harry's lips downturned in a large frown that no one noticed. But once the movie was actually over, everyone turned to him, making faces at the face he was wearing. "Okay, what happened now. Where's Niall."

"Nope. Nothing." Harry shrugged, smiling in relief as the next Harry Potter movie came onto the screen after the brief commercial break. "I'm.." 

Perrie laughed sarcastically in his direction, slamming the book shut. "Zip it, curly. We understand you like Niall, but as soon as something bad happens you just give up and turn around like a dog in a snowstorm."

Louis and Liam exchanged confused looks.

"If you really like him you'll grow a pair and act like a real man. Whatever you did needs to be fixed  _now_."

Harry widened his eyes, glaring at her for a milisecond before pushing himself off the sofa and making a beeline for his bedroom, slamming the door loudly behind him.


	17. synthesis

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> sorry the last chapter was so short, it was suuuper late and i hate going back later to finish things haha, i need them all finished in one go basically :p

 

_"Two or more entities that create something.. new."_

 

Since the door closed, Harry'd been locked in his room, staring intently at his computer screen with no possible chance of blinking. On it, was nothing more than a documentary.

"Harold Edward Styles you open this door right now or I'll call your mum." His head lifted curiously. Was that a threat?

"She doesn't scare me."  _Oh no. If that didn't sound like a whimper AND a question...well let's just say he'd be in for an ass kicking if he said anymore._ "Don't bring my mother into this.." Well done. 

Perrie looked a lot different on the other side of the door, her eyes were a lovely shade of red. She kept silent as she stalked around the side of the bed, her hands folded behind her back, scaring Harry already. "Whatcha' watching?"

Harry tried to shrug but stopped a few seconds prior. "Oh.. are you serious." Perrie chuckled, reaching over and pausing the video. "Animals don't have relationship problems, Harry."

"I'm a mammal, a mammal is an animal. I have relationship problems."

The blonde laughed shallowly. "What did you do?" She asked softly, whilst making herself comfortable on the end of the bed. Harry groaned but gave in anyways and shifted backwards so he could lay down. "I called him a cheap whore."

Perrie's face couldn't have looked more shocked. "You're a cheap whore." 

Harry let out a small, defeated whimper. "Before he left I found out he was still dating this other guy and he told me he'd end things but he never did."

"Damn, goldie locks." Harry laughed weakly at that, running his fingertips through his slightly mussed up curls. "I thought he liked you back? Why wouldn't he just end it so he could be with you?"

Harry didn't bother to reply with words, letting his body language speak for him. He shrugged his shoulders, sniffling. 

"Fuck him, then.. N-not literally, I mean forget him." She had a good point, Niall surely deserved it. Technically he didn't deserve what Harry said to him, but there was no way it could be taken back anyways, so why dwell on the past.. huh _._

-

 

"Want anything else?"

The voice woke Niall up from the daydream he was locked in, blinking harshly a few times to regain his composure. "Uh, no." He tightened his grip around the mug he was holding, watching as the steam poured over the edges.

Joel took a cautious seat next to him on the sofa, pulling his legs up so he could sit cross legged. "I'm sorry about your boyfriend, Nialler."

Niall blinked again and peered over the side of his cup. "No big deal."

"It's my fault. I mean I guess I should've assumed things were over once we hit the three month mark of not talking or anything.." The boy furrowed his brow and glanced ahead at the framed pictures that were hung on the wall. "My physchologist says I'm really bad with all that. I need closure.. confirmation.. anything." He continued rambling, until he was hushed. 

He turned his head sideways to look at Niall, his eyes wide. "Joel." His voice was surprisingly soft. "Stop." Niall kept his head down and never once took his eyes off the slowly cooling drink in his hands. "I liked you a lot. I wanted to be with you and I wanted you to like me too. But I'm pretty sure i'm in love with Harry, and I can't be caught between you and him."

"You're not caught. Oh my gosh, please don't say that." Joel gasped, clasping his hands over his mouth. Niall set his teacup down on the coffeetable and stood up, exhaling heavily before offering a weak smile to Joel. "I should go."

He gaped at the blonde as he grabbed his coat off the coathanger and left the flat, internally cursing himself for messing things up. 

 

-

 

 _"Hi_ , _this is Niall. Um."_

_"This is Niall, call me back."_

_"Harold."_

_"Yeah, so this is the cheap whore. I've called you five times and left you three, now four, messages. If you don't answer me I'll call Perrie and have you slaughtered."_

_"I'm sorry. Call me back."_

_"Soon, though."_

_-_

_  
_"Niall?" Harry asked, knawing nervously on his knuckles. He sighed in relief as the voice on the other end spoke again. _"Took you long enough."_

Harry couldn't help but laugh. "We need to talk. I think."

_"Thought so."_


	18. forte

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> wey heyy proper chapter in t midst }:-)
> 
> song; no diggity (cover) by ed sheeran feat. passenger

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> by the way im heavily considering starting up another chaptered work after this is complete

"Oh, come on.. it wasn't like you meant it." Niall choked out a barely-there laugh, swaying from side to side as he walked, hands in his pockets. "I meant the deck, though."

Harry laughed in return and looped an arm around the blonde's waist protectively. "And your threat worked. Perrie verbally slaughtered me before you even had the chance to talk to her." He shuddered at the reminiscence of the day. "She called me a cheap whore, aswell."

Niall pursed his lips together into the cutest pout Harry's ever seen, obviously trying very hard to surpress his laughter. Though he didn't make any effort to reply, he seemed generally amused by the conversation. 

The rocky shoreline they were walking along was deserted which wasn't much of a surprise considering it was on the end of winter, no snow but sharp winds. "I love how..  how when it's cold outside you'll bundle up like you're at risk for frostbite." Harry giggled gently. 

"I like being warm." Niall protested, leaning into Harry. "Speaking of which... d'ya think we could head back soon? I'm freeeezing." He sighed shallowly, jutting his lower lip out again to pout playfully up at Harry. He complied and turned them both around, guiding them down the gravelly beach towards where Harry parked his car. Yes,  _car_.

The car bumped down the road in the most ungraceful way possible, and it wasn't just because Harry had just recently gotten his license. Niall had his back to the window and his legs pulled up with him on the seat, watching Harry fondly as he focused on the road ahead. 

He hummed absently along to the song that was playing softly on the radio, keeping it to himself that he in all seriousness knew all the lyrics. "Things are crazy lately," Harry said, turning a corner and taking off down a familiar street, "Perrie and Zayn have this ridiculous book that's about two-hundred pages long, full of their wedding plans." He chuckled lightly to himself and glanced over for a brief second at Niall, who was smiling at him.

"I'm really excited for them. And for myself, I'm going to look  _hot_ on their wedding day. My suit is insane." 

"I picked it out for you, you twat." 

Niall narrowed his eyes at the teasing, still smirking. "Guess we'll both be hot, then." The car stopped aswell and the keys were taken out of the ignition, turning off the radio instantly. Harry grinned playfully and unbuckled himself from the seat, reaching across the median and placing a sweet kiss on Niall's forehead.

"Would you marry me?" Niall's eyes then widened but his expression didn't even falter slightly. Harry cherished the thoughtful look on his face. "Is this a proposal?"

Harry darted his tongue out to wet his lips, humming nervously as he unlocked the doors and placed a hand on the lever that opened the door. "Just a question. I don't think this venue is the most appropriate for..that."

They laughed and exited the car, leaning against eachother like always as they made their way up to the doorway. Louis appeared in the threshold before Harry could even move for his house key. They froze and all stared at eachother with hugely widened eyes.

Louis gripped the door in his left hand, his mouth forming a near perfect frowny face. "Holy shit snacks." It looked like he was about ready to leave when they arrived, but he wouldn't have thought any differently since it was rare Louis would willingly open a door for anyone.

"Ohkay." Niall spoke slowly like he was in a pool of honey, gracefully slipping past Louis. Harry did the same shortly after, watching the light-brown haired man gawk as he walked in. It was an awkward arrival, especially since Louis was standing still in the middle of the doorway, making it a 'fun' trick to sneak past him.

"Hold on." He squeaked. Both boys froze and pivoted around. He held his index finger up and did the same. "What is  _this_."

Harry looked down at Niall then back up at his roommate. "This is Niall."

"The same Niall you cried pathetically - and bought a cat over?" Niall shot the most accusing glare at both of them before deciding he had seen enough and hurried into the living room. 

Harry breathed heavily as he watched the blonde scurry away. "Yes. That Niall."

 

"You kind of look like him. You're both really soft, blonde, feline-like." Liam said whilst chuckling, his auburn eyes following the cat as it walked between him and Niall on opposite ends of the sofa.

Harry's eyes, out of instinct, started to twitch. He inhaled until there was a bit too much air in his lungs. He muttered a  _hell no_ to himself, hoping no names were mentioned. Of course he was struck unlucky.

"Narry!" The cat jumped off the couch and landed a metre or so away, sprinting into the next room. Perrie gasped and whipped around in preparation to run after, but then (like it's gone multiple times today) turned back when her sight landed on Niall's familiar prescence. "Niall!"

Niall whimpered, his eyebrows raised skyhigh. "Narry?"

Harry shook his head frantically. Perrie threw herself at the other blonde, rambling on about what he's missed and how much of a douchebag Harry was. Her fiance tiredly padded into the room and slumped down on the nearest piece of furniture, a coffeetable, which was good enough. He laid across it and placed his hands on his stomach. "Hi Niall."

Niall nodded. "Zayn." He smiled kindly. "Who's Narry?" He looked around in search of the answer he wasn't getting, trying to ignore the fact he was being mauled by an overexcited young-adult. 

"Harry bought a cat and named it after you and him. Niall and Harry..  _Narry_." He couldn't even decipher who the words came from, his vision was blurring from his eyes being open and from not blinking for so long. 

Though the distressed noises in the background told him differently, he was guessing his boyfriend was curled up somewhere in the room, close to tears. 

"I quite like it." Could've been a lie, but it was a good one. Good enough. Liam cheered.

 

Narry Storan the tabby cat. Quite possibly the best cat with the most unfortunate name, though only in Harry's opinion. 


	19. falter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> because i use that word a lot

"Alright, let's address the elephant in the room." Louis spoke loudly, resting both of his elbows awkwardly on the countertop. Everyone else looked around with the same amount of confusion. "Perrie's fucking ring, looks like the entire diamond is attached to one piece of string." Zayn lifted his fiancee's hand and observed the ring, probably hoping that was a compliment and not a dig.

Perrie, herself, was wearing a generic 'wtf' expression, her blue eyes impossibly wide as she stared partially deadpan at Louis. "I wouldn't say it's an elephant.."

No one else was nice enough to chip into the useless banter, all rushing about the main floor like they were before, gathering what they needed for work. Louis decided many weeks ago that he was going to 'take one for the team' and stay home to look after the house. That went over well.

Niall still wasn't home by the time Harry woke up. He couldn't imagine a barshift would keep you there overnight. It wasn't like many people ordered coffee anymore. So he hesitantly slid out of bed and padded into the bathroom to have a shower and make it look like he hadn't stayed up into the short hours of the morning.

Waiting and waiting for no reason.

Though once he noticed no one else was even here and the shared carkeys were gone, he thought  _eh, fuck it_ and made to saunter back to his bedroom.

He shrugged off his cardigan and tossed it to the floor - not hearing the door open and close and the exasperated sigh of a certain blonde fellow as he walked over to retrieve the discarded clothing.

"Watch yourself, Styles."

Harry smiled smugly but didn't bother to turn around, just circling the house until he got to the foyer again. "You were out passed your bedtime, young man."

Niall rolled his eyes and reached out, pulling Harry closer to him so they could hug. "I was out job hunting."

"Find anything?"

He made a slight 'hm' noise and that was the most Harry was going to get from him, reply wise. "What about the circumstances? You said you wouldn't quit your job for anything." Niall raised an eyebrow. "I was fired."

Harry pursed his lips. "All in one night?"

Niall shrugged. And in some ways, Harry did too. How did they go from knowing eachother for four minutes to basically living with eachother? Even that brought them to a standstill.

Why was Niall here when he could be living in privacy in the adorable flat he already owns?

Why was Niall a stripper when he could've been a CEO?

Why does Niall like Harry?

Why does Niall's name send shivers down Harry's spine and a blush across his face when ever he hears it?

"Don't give up, okay? Keep looking." The words were mumbled against Niall's throat, and despite the fact they were barely heard, Niall still took them to heart and tightened his grip around Harry's neck a little more.

Niall was the first to back away from the hug, without a speck of consideration walking into the next room, emerging seconds later with a cat in his arms.

The cat was snuggled up to his chest, it's tail whipping back and forth sometimes. "Found Narry."

Harry sighed, running his hand over the cat's back. "This house really needs to think before they name pets."

"I like it." Niall retorted as lightheartedly as possible, making sure he didn't offend Harry by adding a cute smile afterwards. "He's adorable just like me."

 

-

 

"Who's the best man?" Perrie asked into the phone she was balancing on her shoulder. She nodded and scribbled some more things down in her book, but then paused and dropped the pen, properly holding onto the phone. "You're kidding.."

The voice on the other end suddenly grew quiet, nervously replying that no.. indeed they were not.

"No way." She whined, covering her eyes with her free hand. "Perrie?" She tilted her head up, blinking at the figure standing behind the island. Louis smiled childishly and stalked over to the table. 

"Heard the news?"

Perrie bypassed his comment and told Zayn she had to go. She slammed the phone on the table and glared at Louis with furious eyes. "I will saw my own arm off before I let Zayn make you a best man." Her tone was slightly rocky.

"Unless you promise to act like a normal person through it all."

Louis smiled. "Oh I promise." Then he took his smug grin and left the room. Perrie grimaced and redialled Zayn's number.

"Please don't do this to me."

 


	20. we're alright

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> last "chapter"  
> thank you so much for reading, it's been pretty fun writing this :)  
> who's watching/watched the AMA's?
> 
> song; open by rhye
> 
> i used the word door a lot. oh my.

The months went by slower than sand in an hour glass, each day making the couple to be more and more nervous.

They were scared of getting cold feet so they tried a little too hard to impress eachother - but finally on the day of their wedding, everything levelled out.

Perrie's room was locked off with a last minute made sign on the door that read 'stay out unless you have boobs'. Harry and Niall must've walked past there a good ten times, laughing every single time. 

Both of them stayed attached at the hip during the whole ceremony, watching with tilted heads as Zayn and Perrie exchanged awkward and slightly innappropriate vows. They were still sweet, and they looked really.. fascinated by eachother. So it went along nicely. When the reception rolled around it seemed like the only thing people were interested in was the alcohol. Maybe because it was free.

Harry watched tentively -whilst trying to hold a conversation with some of the group's close friends- as Niall weaved around the crowd and had light conversations with some of the guests. One in particular caught Harry's attention, a young brunette who he had seen at the house before hanging out with Perrie.

They laughed, probably at one of Niall's stupid jokes, and the girl repeatedly set her palm on the side of Niall's shoulder, dragging it downwards in a flirtatious manner. Harry held his champagne glass so tight he was sure it'd shatter soon. Louis' hand waved frantically infront of his face, catching his attention. "Hey.. you alright?" 

Without an answer, he followed Harry's gaze - narrowing his eyes at what he was seeing. 

"That's Jesy. Pretty sure she's dating someone.. seems to be getting pretty cosy to your guy, huh."

Harry couldn't help but roll his eyes. He handed his glass to Louis after finishing off the substance in one go, shuffling off towards Niall and Jesy. The blonde, who's quiff was now dyed a lilac colour (thanks to Leigh-Anne's 'helpful' advice) near choked on his drink, sputtering. 

Jesy's eyes went wide, hunching her shoulders. "I'm Jesy."

"I know who you are." Harry slurred, hiccuping after every word. "Gettin' cosy to my guuuy." He fitted in a smile somewhere after that, slightly aggressively linking his arm through Niall's, who shot an apologetic look towards Jesy.

She smiled crookedly. "Nice meeting you, Niall. Text me, yeah?" Niall snuck in a quick nod and watched as she walked off, spinning around to face Harry completely. "We were just talking! Why do you have to assume every person I talk to I'm going to cheat on you with? Wait... are you drunk?" He grimaced.

Harry shrugged casually, reaching out to the side and plucking another flute of champagne from a passing tray. Before he could think of taking a sip, it was out of his hand and Niall was guzzling the whole thing down, losing his composure instantly. "Holy shit."

"Enjoying the buzzz?" Harry drawled, smiling smugly with narrowed eyes. 

"Shut the fuck up." Niall said. "We're here for Zayn and Perrie, don't- what was in this? vodka?" He hiccuped a few times in a row, groaning and dragging Harry through the crowd of people, tugging on Liam's sleeve once he found him.

Liam raised his eyebrows curiously and dug his hands a little deeper in his trouser pockets, having taken off his blazer and now just wearing a vest, bowtie and dress shirt. "Liam."

"Wha?"

"He's drunk and yeah." Niall squeaked, unable to keep control of his voice. Liam raised an eyebrow and shook his head dissapprovingly. "Of course you are, an hour or two into the wedding."

Harry whimpered and shifted his weight between his left and right leg, his hands clasped together. Niall leaned over to Liam and whispered something to him, forcing a nod from him.

He then lead Harry out into the corridor and to where the restrooms were, making sure the door was locked behind him. "Okay listen, I'm really sorry but you sprung this upon yourself. You,  _you_ , have to stay in here until you sober up."

"You wanna fool around in a public toilet?" Harry pursed his lips.

Niall scoffed. "No." Then laid a hand on the doorknob, opening it and stepping through the threshold. "You're staying in here, I'm going back out  _there_." He hiccuped again and felt around the door, fumbling with the lock until it was on the right side - closing the door behind him.

It took Harry a moment to figure out what was happening, and when he did he basically sprinted to the door, knocking furiously on it with both fists. "Niall!"

No one answered his pleas, so he slid to the base of the wall and began to sing himself songs until some drunk family member needed the bathroom. Harry unlocked the door and opened it, all the while kneeling on the tiled floor. It was Zayn's eldest sister, who looked awfully confused, asking rapid questions like "what the hell, harry why are you in the girl's bathroom with the door locked" and such. 

He simply shrugged and crawled into the hallway, getting back up onto his feet when people started to stare. He next stumbled around the venue in search of one of his friends, accidentally bumping into Perrie first, who smiled evily at him.

"Harold." He widened his eyes at the sudden change of voice. She tucked some of her pinned up hair behind her ear and gripped onto his wrist to keep him from moving. "I swear if you ruin this for me I will ruin you." She said through clenched teeth. Harry nodded and leaned towards her, almost falling on her. "Congratulations,"

Perrie smiled brightly and pulled him in for a friendly hug. But Harry wasn't finished yet, "I hope you and Zayn have really loud sex tonight." Then she was back to being sour, slapping Harry's upperbody angrily and muttering curse words until Zayn set his hands on her shoulders.

"Woah." He said over the music, trying not to laugh. "Calm down, lovely.. he's hammered."

Perrie kept up with the cursing, her eyes following Harry as he giggled like a schoolgirl and stumbled away. 

 

Niall finally felt like he was sobering up, having been sitting back with Jesy and Jade for the past half hour drinking lattes and laughing about random stuff, he excused himself and sauntered off to the bathroom he locked Harry in.

Though, no one was in there. He sighed heavily and turned to walk back, stopped by an elderly woman who just smiled sweetly and walked past him. "Wrong bathroom, sweetie." 

He raised both his eyebrows, then moulded back into the crowd and kept a steady look out for Harry.

After asking mostly everyone he came in contact with if they've seen him, he figured he was probably fine and snuck out to the balcony/patio where half the wedding party already was. He smiled, seeing Zayn and Perrie slow dancing to the most unfitting song you could play at a wedding (Blurred Lines), being watched fondly by a well off group of guests. 

Niall sat down on a discarded chair and let out a tired sigh, quickly looking to his side which didn't give him much time to see who it was, having to do a double take to realize it was infact Harry.

"Babe."

Harry grinned, looking ahead as he watched the couple dance. "This is really nice."

Niall furrowed his brow for a moment, then smiled. "Yeah, it is."

"They seem really happy," He ran his fingers through his dark brown hair, pushing it back. "I want to be that happy."

Niall bit his lip. "No one's stopping you."

Then Harry looked at him, his eyes full of question.

"Marry me."

Niall narrowed his eyes at him, trying to decipher if he's being real about this or if he was still drunk. "Ok." At first he wanted to say it to test him, to see how genuine the question was, but it gradually turned into an answer. 

"Yes."

 


End file.
